ICS Analysis

In recent years Australia-India relations has been popularised by Australian politicians as one sharing the three common interests of cricket, curry and commonwealth or the 3Cs. In reality, the three most common interests shared by Australia and India would be cricket, curry and China. Every country has their own distinct way of conducting relations with China guided by their particular historical framework. Peter Varghese describes China’s rise as “waves” that can be seen on the horizon but cannot be measured in terms of time and impact. In recent past there has been much speculation about China’s rise in the west and elsewhere. While most of these perceptions have been proved wrong, even the ones that were correct did not fully grasp China’s rise under Xi Jinping’s leadership. Against this backdrop, this paper is broadly divided into two sections. The first section attempts to understand Xi Jinping and his leadership style. The second section addresses the question of whether Xi Jinping represents continuity, disruption or continuity through disruption.